Plate holding device fixed to a substructure

ABSTRACT

The invention is directed to a holder for fixedly attaching a panel to a substructure. The holder comprises a connection member capable of being fixedly connected non-rotatably to the substructure, a panel holder fixedly attached to the panel and a spacer element threadedly attaching the connection member to the panel holder. The spacer element can be axially adjusted and fixed relative to the connection member and the panel holder.

The invention is directed to a holder for plates or panels that is fastened to an underlying construction or substructure and comprises a connection member which is connected to the substructure so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative to it and which has a connection thread for connecting to a spacer element which spaces the panel relative to the substructure and which has a connection thread at its end facing the panel for connecting to a panel holder.

Holders of the type mentioned above must be able to connect to a substructure so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative to it on one side and to connect to a glass panel or the like on the other side. In order to compensate for construction tolerances, it is desirable that the holder is constructed such that its length is changeable, i.e., structural component parts of the holder must be designed in such a way that the distance between the connection of the holder to the substructure and to the glass panel or facade panel can be adjusted and fixed in order to enable an aligned arrangement of adjoining glass panels or facade panels. As a rule, a spacer element which forms a component part of the holder is used for this purpose.

DE 195 28 489 A1 describes a device of the generic type. The previously known glass pane holder is provided with a threaded bolt that is welded to a support and engages with a receiving sleeve forming the spacer element. The threaded rod of a panel holder can be screwed into the cup-shaped head of the receiving sleeve. The depth to which the threaded rod can be screwed into the receiving sleeve is determined by the contact of a supporting disk of the panel holder at the receiving sleeve, i.e., the threaded rod and cup-shaped head of the receiving sleeve are not suited for spacing the glass pane relative to the support.

DE 93 18 862 U1 discloses a holder for multiple-insulation glass panes in which a mounting bolt that makes it possible to compensate for tolerances can be screwed into a mounting sleeve and secured therein. In this case, also, spacing between the glass pane and the substructure is made possible by only one individual screw connection.

This applies, as well, to the solution according to DE 195 19 526 A1 for the panel holder in which the shaft part of a support element engages in a fixed structural component part, designated as a building, at its end remote of an articulated head.

In the clamping fitting for fastening glass panes disclosed in DE 197 13 038 C2, a point holder which is clamped into the glass pane is connected to a wall by means of a clamping screw. The required spacing is carried out by a spacer nut which is screwed to an adjusting nut and by means of which the distance between the wall and the glass pane can be adjusted with the intermediary of a spacer bushing. DE 196 23 797 A1 discloses a holder for a glass pane in which a point holder is supported at a supporting framework by a support member. The support member penetrates a bore hole of the supporting framework by a threaded pin and can be secured to the supporting framework on both sides of this bore hole by means of lock nuts.

In each of the above-mentioned connections between a panel and a substructure, only an individual adjusting member is provided for changing the spacing between the panel and the substructure.

It is the object of the invention to provide a holder for the connection of glass panels, facade panels, or the like, to a substructure, by means of which holder the distance between the substructure and the panel can be adjusted and fixed in a simple manner. This holder must ensure the possibility of a large change in spacing combined with the possibility of an optimal alignment. The connection of the holder to the glass panel or façade panel can be carried out in any manner, e.g., in the form of a point holder, by means of a so-called spider, or the like.

This object is met, according to the invention, by the features of claim 1.

Due to the ability of the spacer element to be adjusted relative to the connection member as well as relative to the panel holder, the possible adjusting path is doubled while retaining the same structural length of the spacer element as that in the prior art and ensuring a precise alignment.

Further features of the invention are characterized by the subclaims.

The same structural component parts can be used for the connection member and the panel holder in that the structural component parts of the connection member connected to the spacer element and the structural component parts of the panel holder at the spacer element are arranged in a mirror-symmetric manner. A symmetric construction of the spacer element and, therefore, a simple and economical manufacture is made possible in that identical threaded pins are provided at the end of the spacer element facing the substructure and at the end of the spacer element facing the panel.

The grooves which extend at the spacer element in axial direction thereof and which intersect the connection thread of the threaded pin serve to fix the spacer element with respect to rotation relative to the connection member and relative to the panel holder in a manner to be described in the following. Each threaded pin of the spacer element preferably has four diametrically arranged grooves.

The connection member and the panel holder are constructed by a simple technique in a further development of the invention in that the connection member and the panel holder are formed as nuts which engage the connection thread of the spacer element in a sleeve-shaped manner, these nuts being fixed with respect to axial displacement by means of associated lock nuts.

While the above-mentioned lock nuts prevent a possible axial displacement of the connection member and panel holder, the latter are also fixed with respect to rotation in that threaded bore holes for receiving grub screws which can be screwed into the above-described grooves of the threaded pins are arranged in the wall of the nuts. A grub screw can be screwed into each of the four grooves of a threaded pin. As an advantageous result, the alignment can be exactly adjusted because locking is made possible between the spacer element on one side and the connection member and panel holder on the other side by rotating the connection member or the panel holder along one fourth of its circumference.

This precision alignment can be improved in a further development of the invention in that the connection threads of the connection member and of the panel holder are constructed as fine threads.

The connection thread of the connection member and of the panel holder can be constructed as same-handed threads or opposite-handed threads, as desired. In the latter case, the connection member and the panel holder can both be displaced axially simultaneously relative to the spacer element by rotating the spacer element.

As was described above, the structural component parts of the connection member and of the panel holder are arranged at the spacer element in a mirror-symmetrical manner. This applies with respect to the structural component parts used for axial adjustment and, accordingly, for alignment. Moreover, in a further development of the invention, the panel holder can form the indirect or direct connection for a point holder of a glass panel or façade panel, i.e., it can be constructed in any desired manner with respect to the possibility for connecting to a panel, a so-called spider, or the like.

For functionally correct actuation of the holder described above, the connection member must be connected to the substructure so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative to it. This rotationally locking connection can be carried out by means of a detachable screw connection in principle. However, the connection between the connection member and the substructure is preferably effected by welding.

According to another feature of the invention, the threaded pin arranged at the spacer element is omitted and manufacture can be further simplified in that the spacer element can be constructed in practice as a threaded bolt and can have, along the entire length of its longitudinal extension, a connection thread and grooves which intersect the connection thread.

The invention will be described more fully in the following with reference to two embodiment examples.

FIG. 1 shows the holder using threaded pins; and

FIG. 2 shows the holder using a threaded bolt.

Identical structural component parts are provided with the same reference numbers in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A holder 1 according to FIG. 1 substantially comprises a spacer element 3 which has threaded pins 9 at its two ends. The lower threaded pin 9 with reference to the image plane is screwed by means of a connection thread 6 to a connection member 4 that is welded to a substructure 2. The upper threaded pin 9 with reference to the image plane is screwed to a panel holder 5 in a corresponding manner by means of a threaded connection 6. It can be seen that the threaded pin 9 is arranged at the end 7 of the spacer element 3 facing the panel (not shown) and at the end 8 of the spacer element 3 facing the substructure 2. Grooves 10 extending in axial direction A are arranged symmetrically with respect to the spacer element 3 in the area of the threaded pin 9 and a grub screw 15 which prevents rotation can be screwed into these grooves 10. The grub screws 15 penetrate threaded bore holes 14 in a connection member 4 and panel holder 5 constructed as nuts 11. It can be seen that four diametrically opposed grooves 10 are provided. The axial fixing between the spacer element 3 on one hand and the connection member 4 and panel holder 5 on the other hand is carried out by means of lock nuts 12 which can be tightened against the connection member 4 and the panel holder 5.

The embodiment example according to FIG. 2 differs from the embodiment example according to FIG. 1 only in that a spacer element, designated by 3′, is formed as a threaded bolt and grooves, designated by 10′, and the connection thread 6′ extend along the entire length of the spacer element 3′.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1 holder -   2 substructure -   3 spacer element -   3′ spacer element -   4 connection member -   5 panel holder -   6 connection thread -   6′ connection thread -   7 end of the spacer element -   8 end of the spacer element -   9 threaded pin -   10 grooves -   10′ grooves -   11 nut -   12 lock nut -   13 wall -   14 threaded bore hole -   15 grub screw -   arrow A axial direction 

1.-15. (canceled)
 16. A holder for coupling a panel to a substructure, comprising: a connection member fixedly attachable to the substructure, the connection member having a connection thread; a panel holder fixedly attachable to the panel holder, the panel holder having a connection thread; and a spacer element extending along a spacer axis between axial ends thereof, one axial end thereof being threadedly coupled into the connection thread of the panel holder, the other axial end being threadedly coupled into the connection thread of the connection member, the spacer element being axially adjustable between the panel holder and the connection member and shaped to position the panel apart from the substructure.
 17. The holder of claim 16, wherein the connection member and the panel holder are symmetrically coupled to the spacer element.
 18. The holder of claim 16, wherein the axial ends of the spacer element each comprise a threaded pin configured to threadedly engage the respective connection thread.
 19. The holder of claim 18, wherein the spacer element has an axially extending groove intersecting each of the threaded pins.
 20. The holder of claim 19, wherein each threaded pin of the spacer element has four diametrically arranged grooves.
 21. The holder of claim 16, wherein the panel holder and the connection member each comprise a threaded nut threadedly engaging over the axial end of the spacer element in a sleeve-shaped manner.
 22. The holder of claim 21, further comprising a pair of threaded nuts on respective ends of the spacer element so that the lock nuts fix axial displacement of the threaded nuts on the spacer element.
 23. The holder of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of threaded bore holes extending through a wall of each of the connection member and the panel holder and toward the spacer element, and a plurality of grub screws, wherein the spacer element has a plurality of surface grooves extending axially toward the axial ends of the spacer element, each grub screw extending through a respective threaded bore hole so that the grub screw is extendable into one of the grooves.
 24. The holder of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of threaded bore holes extending through a wall of each of the threaded nuts and toward the spacer element, and a plurality of grub screws, wherein the spacer element has a plurality of surface grooves extending axially toward the axial ends of the spacer element, each grub screw extending through a respective threaded bore hole so that the grub screw is extendable into one of the grooves.
 25. The holder of claim 23, wherein the number of grub screw is equal to the number of grooves.
 26. The holder of claim 24, wherein the number of grub screw is equal to the number of grooves.
 27. The holder of claim 16, wherein the connection threads of the connection member and of the panel holder are same-handed threads.
 28. The holder of claim 16, wherein the connection threads of the connection member and of the panel holder are opposite-handed threads.
 29. The holder of claim 16, wherein the panel holder forms an indirect or direct connection for a point holder of the panel.
 30. The holder of claim 16, wherein the connection member is welded to the substructure.
 31. The holder of claim 16, wherein the threaded ends of the spacer element form a continuous thread, and wherein the spacer element has a plurality of surface grooves extending between the axial ends of the spacer element.
 32. The holder of claim 19, wherein the threaded ends of the spacer element form a continuous thread, and wherein the spacer element has a plurality of surface grooves extending between the axial ends of the spacer element.
 33. The holder of claim 32, wherein the grooves intersect the threaded ends of the spacer element. 